Science reveals the beauty of the "man-elephant""

Scientists have shown how it could look like "the elephant man", if not a genetic disorder, which he suffered. They have recreated the appearance of Joseph Merrick, which is a rare disease doomed to life as exhibit PANOPTICON. At Merrick, who was born in 1862 in the city of Leicester, the first signs of disease appeared at the age of five, and by the time he became a young man, he had developed a severe deformity. After his mother died, his father abandoned him. For several years, Joseph has traveled and performed together with the circus troupe and was widely known by the nickname "elephant man" Himself Merrick was sure that all his misfortunes happen because of the fact that in his time the elephant is very much frightened his mother. In 1884, the surgeon Frederic Trips, well refers to Merrick, introduced him to the scientists from the London Pathological Society. Merrick died from asphyxia in the London hospital in April 1890. His body was made of a plaster cast. The story of the life of Joseph Merrick filmed in the movie "the elephant Man" John hartom in the title role. Now filmed a documentary about how I could look Merrick, if it was not struck by a terrible disease. To reconstruct the healthy appearance of the "man-elephant managed by analyzing facial features of one of the descendants of Merrick, study of the skull of Joseph, as well as through the use of special equipment. This work was commissioned by the channel and Discovery Health Channel and is part of a project aimed to find out exactly how the disease suffered "the elephant man". Professor Erica Hagelberg from the University of Oslo, extracted DNA from centennial samples of hair and bones of the Merrick. DNA is in very poor condition and, nevertheless, it can be analyzed, said Professor Charis eng, Director of the Department of human genetics at the Ohio state University, specialists of which are also involved in the project. Based on the clinical picture, geneticists and other scientists believe that Merrick suffered from so-called Proteus syndrome, which, among other things, causes abnormal growth of the head, bones and skin. It is also possible that Merrick was suffering from neurofibromatosis is a disease that can cause enlargement and deformation of bones, as well as the growth of malignant. Inopressa.ru (The Daily Telegraph).